We are called The Kukkad Diaries for a reason. Hunting for and hogging on good plate of kukkad is like religion. It has to be done routinely and with great respect and devotion. There's nothing more humbling than being given a chance to savour a dish of perfectly cooked and presented Kukkad.

So we were sitting in the office one fine evening sipping on some chai from our favorite chai shop when we suddenly got a call to come over and try the 'Dil se desi chakhna menu' at Punjab Grill. The idea seem intriguing and promised great food, considering it was 'Punjab Grill' hosting the fest. It meant loads of kukkad shukkad (oh aahu aahu, te waahu waahu).

So we left office early to go and checkout what 'Punjab Grill' had to offer. It is located in the Phoenix Mall, Viman Nagar and have started this beautiful outdoor seating with a deck that overlooks the courtyard below and boast of some great ambient lighting. They also had a band performing live when we arrived so people could enjoy the food and appreciate the music. The outdoor seating also had a small live tandoor section where you could see the kukkad shukkad being roasted which would definitely get you drooling if you are a Kukkad lover like us.

Since it was a Chakhna menu, the crunchy spicy bits that's served when you are out drinking with friends or even when your Dad and the folks at home sit down with a glass on a winter night, we were served these delicious munchies in small chai glasses which looked adorable. It had the good ol' Chana Jor Garam in the form of mixed seeds, the classic masala peanuts, some sweet spicy corn etc. The chakhna brought back old memories of having chana jor garam during the casual visits to India gate.

We started with BLOODY CHAMELI, the PUNJABI KRANTT and the JALANDHAR EXPRESS which were classic cocktails made with the desi twist. 

We then went on to try CHICKEN THREE WAYS which had ckicken tikka, chicken hariyali and chicken malai tikka. The meat was really tender but it lacked a bit of flavor for our liking.

The TANDOORI KUKKAD WINGS was a something really unique (not because it had kukkad in its name). We are huge fans of chicken wings but never thought wings could be made in the tandoor. The dish was really interesting and had the right amount of flavor to make it tasty yet undeniably desi.

The AMRITSARI MACCHI was fried fish with some home made chips. The fish fry was really crispy but maybe the chips didn't go that well with the flavor of the fish. We really liked the fish though.

The CHUKKENDAR KE KEBAB and the PANEER KE SHOOLE were the veggie variants. The kebabs were cutlets with beetroot stuffing with super crispy covering. The paneer was a spicier version of paneer tikka packed with flavor.

We were thenready to go on to the mains but were presented with DANGAR DOSE. Maybe they figured out that we are eating like DANGARS and this would have been the most appropriate thing to serve. The DANGAR dose is a tequila shot served in a big ass injection. Whatte fun!

The mains had BUTTER CHICKEN, CHICKEN BIRYANI, VEG KORMA, KOTKAPURE DA AATA CHICKEN and assorted breads.

 KOTKAPURE DA AATA CHICKEN was definitely the showstopper as the chef himself proceeded to carve the dish himself. A whole chicken is stuffed and marinated with spices and then its completely covered in flour pastry before its put away to bake. Once done, the outer cover is removed to reveal the aromatic, tender chicken. This was a unique way of cooking and was indeed quite delicious.